Monday, August 28, 2017
Thinking Critically About Diamondbacks in October
Okay, so the Diamondbacks, barring catastrophe, are headed to the playoffs. They're a few games ahead of the Rockies, 5 games ahead of anyone else competing for the Wild Card, and...okay, 20 games behind the Dodgers, but that's not the point of this. The POINT of this...is how are the Diamondbacks going to fare in the playoffs?
First of all, will they even win the Wild Card game? I'd say this is likely, because they'll probably have the advantage, the park, and they have more pristine pitchers to choose from than, say, Colorado or Milwaukee. Again, catastrophe could happen, but let's for the sake of this post say they get through.
They're probably going to have to play the 1st seed...which would put them right there against the Dodgers. So let's ask ourselves, SERIOUSLY...could the Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers?
...well...
Oh, I'm actually putting thought into this. It's easy to just take this as a 'Dodgers in 4' kind of thing, but we have other aspects, like momentum, field advantage, injuries, and slumps, to account for. I mean, if the Dodgers roll into the postseason exactly how they've been playing right now, the D-Backs are toast. So far this season, the Dodgers are 8-5 against the D-Backs, and they'd probably crush the D-Backs if things stay exactly the same.
But...I can't say they'd do it in 4.
The Diamondbacks have been surprisingly fantastic this year, with a full, developed lineup and a surprisingly scary rotation. They've been building this whole year, and have accumulated a pretty fantastic team. The million dollar question, though, is whether or not this team will be good enough to take down the Dodgers, and if they'll have built up enough momentum to take them out in the NLDS.
I'm not gonna say outright 'no' or 'god have mercy' or anything, but I'll say that people should give the Diamondbacks more credit. They could be very sneaky in the next month or so.
Coming Tonight: The outfielder who's brought a host of momentum and a ton of hits to the Bronx.
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Looking a whole lot better for the D-backs after last weekend against my Rockies. That was depressing.
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